Imagine creating the very addictive Oxycontin, an opioid product that people must have. I mean, they need your product so bad that they’re willing to sacrifice their own career, their loved ones, and even life itself to buy what you’re selling. Now distribute this product through a nationwide network of trusted salespeople who also make a great deal of money by selling your product. Imagine how rich you would be. That’s exactly what...
The price of heroin in California is more than you can afford. In fact, it’s more than you should afford. Although a 2018 study by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) found that heroin use in the Los Angeles area was lower than the national rate, heroin treatment admissions were still at a dangerously high level. What’s the Cost? The US National Library of Medicine used literature based estimates to create a model ...
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse “Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted persons self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs.” Even with the stigma surrounding addiction, nearly 21...
Marijuana, also known by cannabis, weed, grass, shake, ganja, reefer, dope, hash, herb, chronic, and many other names, has a reputation for being a safe narcotic. In reality, there are no ‘safe’ narcotics, and the potential for addiction to ‘weed’ (as it will be henceforth referred to) has well earned its place on the DEA Schedule 1 list of dangerous, addictive drugs. Let’s read on to see just how weed can be addictive and habit...
Being caught in the throes of addiction is to be caught in a state where logic, consideration, and reason are thrown out the window in exchange for the pursuit of using. Otherwise sound individuals will engage in irrational or out of character behavior, lying, stealing, cheating, and using any means possible to achieve their end. This is one of the most hurtful symptoms of addiction. Addicts will sometimes disappear. It could be for a few...
Confidentiality has always been a key component of rehabilitative services. The HIPAA law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, signed by Bill Clinton in 1996), guarantees medical privacy, even for minors in many cases. But does it apply to rehabilitation for minors? Can a minor receive substance abuse rehabilitation without their parents finding out? The short answer? Maybe. By HIPAA, minors are allowed to make their own informed consent decisions about health care without...
The debate on whether or not drugs should be legal has been going on for over a century. If we look back 150 years ago, we can see that the Opium Wars crippled China for many decades. Some argue that there are still parts of China that haven’t even recovered from the epidemic. We can also look to the morphine and laudanum epidemic that ravaged the United States post-civil war until those drugs became regulated....
When you think of illegal drugs, the environment may not be the first thought in your mind. Contrary to what most people may believe, illegal drug use does harm the environment in multiple ways. Cocaine is one of the most serious offenders in the drug world. Before we get into the actual process by which cocaine harms the environment, let’s go over some of the basics about the drug itself. What Is Cocaine? Cocaine is...
Inevitably, one of the first questions asked when discussing drug or alcohol rehabilitation programs is, “will my insurance company pay for it?” If you have employer-provided or otherwise “private” insurance, you must contact your insurer to discover the exact terms under which your insurance covers your recovery journey. However, if you are one of the 12,000,000 (that’s 12 million!) Americans who receive their insurance coverage via the Affordable Care Act exchange (AKA ‘Obamacare’), you are...
As we outlined in part 1 of this series, body brokering has been made illegal at the Federal level with the passage of the 2018 SUPPORT act. However, this bill contains an unfortunate loophole. This allows drug rehab centers to continue to use body brokering to recruit new patients into their facilities. Drug rehabilitation facilities have found a loophole to keep using patient brokers: just start calling them “recruiters.” The 2018 SUPPORT for Patients and...
